Ingredients
Choux Paste – For Profiteroles
• 250ml Water
• Pinch Salt
• Pinch Sugar
• 100g Butter
• 125g Sifted Flour
• 3 Beaten Eggs
Crème Patissiere
• 350ml Milk
• 150ml Cream
• 75g Selati Castor Snow
• 5ml Vanilla Essence/Drop of Extract/Scraping of half a Vanilla Pod.
• 1 Whole Egg
• 3 Egg Yolks
• 40g Cornflour
• To the above add 10ml ground coffee and half an espresso.
Instructions
Choux Paste – For Profiteroles
• Pre-heat the oven to 200°C
• Prepare a baking tray with baking paper and set aside.
• Prepare a piping bag with a round nozzle and set aside.
• Sift the flour and set aside.
• In a medium sized pot bring the butter, water, sugar and salt up to boiling point.
• Immediately add the flour all at once and stir firmly until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pot.
• Cool the mixture down and beat the eggs into it gradually. Ensure that each addition of the eggs is thoroughly incorporated.
• Fill your piping bag with the mixture and pipe rounds about 2cm apart. The profiteroles will puff up beautifully.
• Use the back of a damp spoon to gently press down the protruding mixture.
• Bake at 200°C until puffed and golden. 15-20min.
• When you remove the profiteroles from the oven use a small knife to make an incision in the base – this allows the steam to escape.
Crème Patissiere
• In a medium sized pot heat the milk, cream, vanilla, coffee, and 30g of sugar until bubbles appear.
• Whisk all the egg and the rest of the sugar until thick.
• Sift in the cornflour.
• Pour half of the boiled flavoured milk onto the egg and sugar mix. This allows the egg to adjust to the temperature. Once combined add the remaining milk mixture.
• Place the entire mixture into a clean pot and stir continuously until thick.
• Once the mixture is thick, place it in a clean bowl with cling wrap on the surface (this prevents a skin from forming) and place it in the fridge to cool completely.
Assembling:
• Fill a piping bag with the cooled crème patissiere, and gently fill the profiteroles via the incision previously made.
• Brush the tops of the profiteroles with egg white and dip the surface in caster sugar. Using a blow torch brulee the sugar until melted – the sugar will harden to form the wonderful surface which the traditional crème brulee is known for.
• Placing them back in the oven under a grill is not recommended as the crème patissiere might overcook.